An online magazine of faith based on a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The mission of Unitarian Universalism: A Way Of Life ministries is to sanctify the world by helping people become aware of their holiness.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Morning meditation - God abhors war and wants peace in your heart

The problem, friends, is that we think the evil and the war is out there when it really is in our own hearts.

Projection is the name of the game for the ego. It would much prefer to identify what it considers external enemies than have the owner of the ego examine his own heart.

I have made poor choices in my life and I am sorry for my sins. I strive to overcome my character defects which include a cynical attitude, a self righteousness, a sarcastic sense of humor. When I should be compassionate, I scoff. When I should be understanding, I am judgmental. When I should be merciful, I want to punish.

I would rather be killed and than to kill. I would rather be attacked than to attack. I would rather be criticized and judged than to criticize and judge myself.

Was Jesus being condescending and patronizing when He said from the cross as they were killing him, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do?"

I would guess He was being sincere but then who knows. He certainly seems to have risen above those who would attack and crucify him.

Peace can only come from the inward, out. In my experience, most people are not at peace with themselves let alone their brothers and sisters. It is this lack of peace which leads to alcoholism, drug addiction, lust, greed, domination, compulsive overeating, hoarding, gambling and other mood altering compulsive behaviors.

If Unitarian Universalism is to become a peace church, the people of the congregations will have to have found peace themselves, and for the most part they have not. I myself am in search of peace, and I have been encouraged to look for it in my own heart. What I find there is a longing for perfection that wants me to be better and other people to be better than we are. It is this longing and searching for perfection which I find frustrating. Perhaps I should accept things as they are and just let things be. Is it in acceptance that I will find peace?

Perhaps a better word for acceptance is surrender. I need to surrender my will to God's will. When I bring my will into alignment with God's will there is tremendous peace in that.

I do not believe it is God's will that human beings kill each other. When human beings justify their killing by saying that it is God's will, it is the ego talking, the devil, a false God who is being referred to. God, the creator of life, the sustainer of life, would not have God's creations killing each other.

God, the Spirit of Life, abhors war and I believe is quizzical at why churches which profess a belief in God would have such difficulty discerning this.